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The recent TMA Global Annual Conference in Scottsdale Arizona gave us a great opportunity to swap intel and war stories.   The buzz at the conference was around the oil and gas sector.  It created immediate and ongoing comment, not just at the conference but also in the wider media.  See web link from Bloomberg.As the US banks complete their bi-annual reviews of oil and gas loans, we anticipate that borrowing bases will decline between 35 and 40%.   This will inevitably cause some producers to be  unable to meet financial covenants;  unable to secure future borrowings;  kicked into repayment provision territory; and  charged higher interest rates for second lien loans.Whilst the price of oil per barrel has stabilised, it has more than halved to less than US$50 a barrel over the last 12 months.   Producers and service companies have been hanging on in there, but for how much longer?At the … [Read more...] about Coming Down Pipeline: US Energy Credit Lines Face 35-40% Cuts

On January 27, 2015, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) released examples to supplement the 2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility (the interim guidelines), which were released in December 2014.  The USPTO cautioned that the examples were intended to be illustrative only, and that other fact patterns may have different eligibility outcomes.The examples used the two-step analysis disclosed in the interim guidelines.  Step 1 determines whether the claim is directed to one of the four statutory categories, i.e., a process, machine, manufacture, or composition.  Step 2 is a two-part analysis.  In Step 2A, the examiner determines whether the claim is directed to any of the judicially recognized exceptions (laws of nature, natural phenomena and abstract ideas).  If no, the claim is eligible and examination should continue for patentability.  If yes, the examiner proceeds to Step 2B to analyze whether the claim as a … [Read more...] about USPTO Releases Examples for Interim Examination Guidelines for Determining Patent Eligibility Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

Missy Ryan, The Washington Post Published 2:33 pm PST, Friday, November 23, 2018 President Donald Trump this week renewed his questioning of the military's new system for launching aircraft at sea, underscoring his skepticism about a technology the Navy has put at the center of its future aircraft carrier fleet. In a call to service members on Thursday marking the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump asked the commander of the USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier deployed in the Pacific, whether he supported using electromagnetics rather than the traditional steam system to catapult aircraft off carrier decks and land them safely back on board. "Steam is very reliable, and the electromagnetic - I mean, unfortunately, you have to be Albert Einstein to really work it properly," Trump said. "What would you do?" Trump has repeatedly criticized General Atomics' Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), installed on the Navy's newest carrier and slated to be used … [Read more...] about Trump questions technology central to Pentagon’s plans for launching aircraft at sea

NUSRL is now facing the prospect of being taken to arbitration by the Central Public Works Department in Ranchi. The University owes them Rs. 42 crore in dues for construction on the campus.The University, as Vice-Chancellor Dr. BC Nirmal reveals, is in no position to pay that amount. He adds that the Jharkhand government has not fulfilled its promise of funding the University. He says, “When NUSRL was first launched, the Chief Minister promised to give huge funds to make it a global standard University. We were provided about 63 acres of land by the government. We received 50 crore rupees in three instalments – 1 crore in 2010, 2 crore in 2011, and 47 crore in 2012. The construction costs alone amounted to 85 crore rupees. We have already paid 50 crore, but 35 crore and additional 7 crore in interest is due to the CPWD. They are now insisting that if we don’t pay, they will go for arbitration.”This is not the first time NUSRL has brought the … [Read more...] about Students of NUSRL, Ranchi Outraged Against Lack of Infrastructural Facilities, Started #saveNUSRL Campaign

If we have to go by what the constitution makers considered about the capital punishment, it is easy to find out that they were aware that our Penal Code prescribed it and yet they did not want to interfere with it.  The Indian Penal Code which was in force in many states at the time when the Constitution was made contained more than one offence punishable with death penalty.  In fact, some articles were formulated by the Constitution makers by reference to the death penalty. e.g. The President of India and the Governors were conferred with the power of granting ameliorative reliefs to persons convicted of any offence punishable with death penalty (Article 72 (i)).  A right of appeal was provided from the verdict of a High Court to Supreme Court in any case where capital punishment was imposed on an accused in reversal of acquittal order (Article 134).  But we shall not overlook the reality that the constitution makers could not be expected to go into the various … [Read more...] about Time to revisit Bachan Singh